Guest review of The Spill by Imbe Neeme
Author: Imbi Neeme Publisher: Penguin Random House (June, 2020)
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Reviewed by Laura Pettenuzzo
“Nicole and Samantha Cooper both remember the summer day when their mother, Tina, lost control of their car – but not in quite the same way. It is only after Tina’s death, almost four decades later, that the sisters are forced to reckon with the repercussions of the crash. Nicole, after years of aimless drifting has finally found love, and yet can’t quite commit. And Samantha is hiding something that might just tear apart the life she’d worked so hard to build for herself.”
The Spill was a brilliant debut by Melbourne/Naarm-based writer, Imbi Neeme. Told in alternating perspectives, and switching between the present and the past, the novel presented two equally valid recollections of the same events. It established a pattern in Samantha and Nicole’s relationship that was at times frustrating to read because it was so relatable. Samantha and Nicole’s experiences were a testament to the adage: “we don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
As with everything else, Samantha and Nicole had different opinions and experiences of Tina’s alcoholism. Their mother loved them, for all her faults, but only Nicole was able to recognize that, as Samantha harboured deep resentment towards her. Although she kept the most distance from Tina as an adult, Samantha was the one whose life revolved around their mother. Readers who, like Samantha, grew up with a parent living with substance misuse or any other mental health challenges may recognize that urge to create a clear delineation between themselves and their parent. For Samantha, that looked like a clear set of rules that allowed her to justify her drinking and believe that she wasn’t like Tina. Samantha felt so much rage “…at her mother for…always putting drink ahead of her. Rage at her mother for giving her the same disease and rage at herself for succumbing to that disease.” On the other hand, Nicole “hated the way [Sam] exaggerated Tina’s drinking like it was the only thing she ever did…” The cracks in their relationship began with Tina, but were compounded over the years by miscommunications and misunderstandings, which Imbi highlighted through certain incidents and objects, such as Nicole’s Cookie Monster jar. To Nicole, the jar represented the child she would never have, and to Sam, who didn’t know its origin, the jar was another unfathomable example of Nicole’s sentimentality.
My favourite line was the description of Samantha’s accident, the way it evoked the sensations of being so out of control: “Something came loose, maybe in the car, maybe in her head…the car went into a spin, sending everything into slow motion. Samantha felt like she had slipped between the minutes and the seconds into an infinite space where she would spin forever.”
Two side notes. One: Perth was central to Samantha and Nicole’s experiences, and Imbi described it vividly and often, likely stirring in readers (as it did for me) the urge to visit Western Australia as soon as possible. Two: Imbi acknowledged the traditional custodians of the land on which she lives and works – the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation – in the acknowledgements, and it’s a practice every author should emulate.
I loved that Imbi waited until the very last page to reveal what had really happened on the day of the crash in 1982. No spoilers here – you’ll have to read the book to find out!
This novel was a great exploration of the pitfalls of memory, the impact of alcoholism on an individual and their family and a powerful story of two sisters with vastly different recollections of the same childhood.
You can buy a copy of The Spill from Readings independent bookstore here.
About the reviewer: Laura is a young woman living on Wurundjeri land. She writes short stories and novels and has been published in Oz Kids in Print and Melbourne University’s Antithesis journal.
